


Five Steps

by Somnis



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: It was made for day 6, M/M, Madame Bovary reference, Oikage Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-28 23:31:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11428530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Somnis/pseuds/Somnis
Summary: There were five steps in a story.First, the initial state; the characters appeared as well as the time and the place.Second, a disturbance came to disrupt this situation.Third, the hero went through a lot of dangers to remain in the initial situation.Fourth, he found a solution.Fifth, there was a happy ending.Oikawa Tooru didn’t know how he could get out of the first step and begin his story.





	Five Steps

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everybody!  
> Here is a fic I made for the Oikage Week, but as says Saeko-neesan, better late than never !  
> A big thank to my editor [vin_vio](http://archiveofourown.org/users/vin_vio/pseuds/vin_vio), who did like always a wonderful job!  
> Enjoy! 
> 
> “That’s how stories happen - with a turning point, an unexpected twist.” –Murakami

 

**Step 1 : Initial state**

 

Some people get accustomed to the routine. The same things come back each new day, without even a slight difference every day of the year. For Oikawa, it was something he couldn’t handle; wake up, eat, shower, dress. Then he would go to school; everyday he would wink at a random girl and everyday Iwaizumi would hit him. He had the feeling that his life was running in circles from the beginning.

He knew that something happened when it was least expected. That was what people said, when they began their real life. And he didn’t know how to be patient and wait until the day when something unexpected would fall on him.

It could be a place in the national volleyball team, or a job, or a prize. Or even love, but he wasn’t that confident about it. Girls, boys, they were all the same; the first month was mutual amazement and then weaknesses began to appear. And when they realized that he was not the perfect guy, they would just leave.

Because that was how he looked like, the perfect guy; the knight in shining armor. Tall and athletic, beautiful and flirty, popular and clever. Girls were always talking about him when he walked in the high school corridors and to be honest, he liked it. But he knew that nothing serious could happen between them and him; after all, they didn’t know him.

He thought that maybe it would be sensible to try with someone who already knew him enough to not be surprised at his flaws. But he soon realized that Iwaizumi was a friend, even a brother, but not a lover. He couldn’t change his perception of him after years of friendship.

The initial situation was in place. But nothing happened.

He couldn’t stand the idea that life only reserved him a knee injury and a prize in middle-school. Maybe he was being punished for some blasphemy that his ancestors had done years ago. Maybe he didn’t deserve to have a fulfilled life and the disturbance which would start his existence would never come.

There he was in his reflection, deducing that at his 18th year, his life was over.

 

**Step 2 : Disturbance**

 

For Oikawa, going to the library on a sunny Saturday wasn’t exactly considered a good day. Not when he could play volleyball in the park with his nephew. But exams were coming and he didn’t have a choice.

Even if there were libraries in every town, he’d rather go to the one near his former middle-school since he had gotten to know employees who worked there, their good advices made it easy to find the perfect book. Moreover, since he went there for years now, he always sat at the same desk, on the same chair. Although it maintained his routine, he couldn’t say it was unpleasant to feel just like home.

But on that day, the desk was already taken.

It could have been anybody that he didn’t know and he would have just gone away to find a free desk. But when he recognized Kageyama Tobio sitting in his place, he thought that he couldn’t let such an outrage happen.

What was he even doing here? He seemed immersed in his books but the frown on his face showed that it wasn’t a voluntary reading. Oikawa doubted that Tobio would read in his free time, actually it was simply shocking to see him doing something else than volleyball, to see him study. He hadn’t seen Oikawa yet and it reinforced the latter’s desire to disrupt him.

So he took a chair and put it right next to Tobio without a single word to ask him if he could sit there. After all, the provocation came from Kageyama –he should have known that this desk belonged to someone else.

Tobio lifted his head from his books and his eyes widened when he saw Oikawa. He seemed ready to say something but Oikawa never got to hear if it would be a polite “Hello, Oikawa-san” or a more upset “Leave me alone” since he laid a finger on his lips and said in a low voice:

“We’re in a library. You took my place, don’t take my time too.”

And with that, he pulled out his copybooks from his bag, spread them on the desk and tried to focus. Nevertheless, he kept hearing Kageyama’s breathing and the rustle of the pages, which weren’t exactly helping him to focus. After one hour, he wanted to say that he made progress in his revision but what he rather noticed was that Kageyama was very slow to read, he wetted his finger before turning a new page and sighed every time he didn’t understand something. And it happened a lot.

He was unable to work with someone beside him –not to mention that it was his former kouhai and that they had a complicated story in common. A story with a beginning, a disturbance and a lot of events, but they never found a resolution. Oikawa decided to leave; he left the empty chair next to Kageyama, gathered his books and walked away, still mute and feigning ignorance.

It was only later when he was home and sitting on his bed that he opened his bag and realized that one of the books didn’t belong to him.

 

**Step 3 : Twists and turns**

 

On Monday he went to the library to return the book where they gave it back to him, laughing. Until then, Oikawa didn’t have the curiosity to open the book and see what the story was, or even if it was a manual or something like that. It turned out to be a notebook and he felt utterly stupid.

Oikawa sighed, understanding what it meant. Kageyama must have pulled it out to check what he had to do before reading and Oikawa had taken it without paying attention, too concentrated on showing just how bothered he was.

His first reflex was to open it; for every day, there was a line of Tobio’s chicken scratch. Oikawa was surprised to find little sketches which essentially were related to volleyball: generally a rectangle symbolizing a court, with a line in its center, the net; and inside that rectangle, confusing points and arrows. Just what he could have expected from Tobio. Leafing through the notebook, he found a day in June where the page was covered with crosses but couldn’t find an explanation for it. Between the cover and the first page of the notebook, he found a picture of Karasuno’s team and felt that maybe he shouldn’t see more, that it was private.

He stared angrily at the notebook, not knowing what to do with it. Tobio needed this notebook, it was something for school, he had to bring it back to him. He checked if Kageyama was in the library, in vain. He didn’t have Tobio’s number and didn’t know how to contact him. He guessed that he only had one option left.

He really was a nice person, he thought, once he was on a bus to Karasuno, the notebook in his bag. But he found a reason for this generosity - after all, if Tobio failed his exams he would have to repeat this year, which would raise the gap between them to three years and then he would be forced to wait a year more before Tobio graduated and was able to confront him on the court again. So it was calculated, Oikawa convinced himself, he wasn’t being helpful to him at all.

He passed through the gates without problem and since it wasn’t a big school, he easily found the gymnasium. He heard the sound of balls and shouting and hesitated before opening the door; after all, he wasn’t supposed to be here. Finally, before he could make a decision, he heard the coach saying that that was all for today. Relieved, he decided to wait outside for Kageyama.

It was luck, he thought, when Kageyama left the gymnasium first and alone. It was the perfect occasion to give him his notebook back.

“Tobio-chan!” he called out. Kageyama, apparently in a hurry, was already walking towards the gates and didn’t stop, just gave him an annoyed look. Oikawa had to match his pace to keep talking to him. “I think I have your notebook. I came here to return it to you.”

Kageyama briefly stared at him and dryly replied, “You shouldn’t have.”

“I thought you might need it,” Oikawa answered more aggressively, given Kageyama’s tone. “Aren’t you in exam period?”

“Yes, that’s why I’m hurrying, I need to study.”

“Without your notebook?”

Kageyama suddenly stopped walking and faced Oikawa, his arms crossed. He pouted.

“Do you want me to apologize?” he said.

“For what?”

“I realized that I bothered you at the library,” Kageyama replied and his cheeks began to grow red. “But then why did you sit next to me? There were free desks! And don’t think I’m stupid, I got that you were angry because of me, you made it very obvious. And now you bring me my notebook. Are you gonna pretend that you’re annoyed again, even if it’s you who chose to come? So do I have to apologize for something you voluntarily did?”

Oikawa’s jaw dropped. He had no idea that Tobio would feel that way and give value to his childish behavior. Wasn’t he accustomed to it since middle school?

“I just came because I thought you might use it for your exams,” Oikawa said, pulling the notebook out from his bag. “Take it as an apology for what happened at the library.”

Tobio took the notebook with a suspicious look.

“Thanks,” he muttered without making eye contact. “I have to go now.”

Oikawa felt something wasn’t right, stunned by Tobio’s words. Did he really hurt him? A feeling of guilt ran over him and it wasn’t the first time in his life that he felt guilty towards Tobio. Maybe it was time to do something about it. Kageyama seemed more than ready to go but Oikawa held him a little longer:

“Why is there a crossed day in June?” he asked. For a moment he feared that it was impolite and it betrayed that he had read the notebook.

“I can’t explain,” simply replied Tobio. “I don’t have the time today.”

“Tomorrow?”

“No.”

“After your exams?”

Tobio once again stared at him, but this time, a shadow of a smile appeared on his lips. Oikawa got the impression that it could be a beginning, if he wanted to pick up the pieces of his relationship with Tobio. There was his story. The disturbance came on Saturday and now his routine was broken. As if trying to be forgiven by Tobio was a mission he had and this almost imperceptible smile was his first success.

“Then see you later, Tobio-chan,” he said with a true, cheerful smile. “Good luck for your exams.”

Without waiting for a reaction, he turned away, victorious smile lingering on his lips. He felt, with that, his life was beginning to deviate from its usual circle, but how far?

 

**Step 4 : Solution**

 

Oikawa went through his exams more concentrated on the thought of seeing Tobio again than on the exams themselves. Instead of studying, it happened that he spent more time remembering that shadow of a smile he’d seen on Tobio’s lips. And trying to figure out how he could make it happen again.

Maybe being good and fixing what he did three years ago was the only healthy goal he ever had in his life. He wanted to be a great volleyball player and what good came out of it? Injury, jealousy, spite. He wanted to be loved and what good came out of it? The appearance of a perfect boy, but only as a front which prevented him from being loved for who he really was.

But he couldn’t find any unpleasant consequences in redemption and the little hope he had about it gave something more to his life. Iwaizumi told him that he seemed more pleased and dreamy and asked him if it was due to a new love story. Oikawa denied it and then Iwaizumi added that it would be strange anyway, since Oikawa in love was excited and impatient –well, the exact opposite of his current behavior.

Sometimes, when he surprised himself wanting too much to meet Tobio again, Oikawa would ask himself how he came to that point. How the way he acted changed from the disrespectful behavior at the library to the curious and almost caring attitude he showed three days later.

Finally, Tobio wasn’t a genius monster, that’s what he had learned in these three days. The little sketches for each day in the notebook. The photo of Karasuno’s team. And then the fact that he felt hurt by Oikawa once more. That reaction which was absolutely not Tobio-like, to speak for so long and about the two of them, betraying that the problem was far older than the library episode. To see that Tobio was human now, after years, changed Oikawa’s world. He wanted to go further, to discover more of this Kageyama who appeared to him as someone new.

At the end of his exams, he was reflecting on how he could go back to Karasuno. Maybe he wouldn’t have the same luck as last time and immediately find Kageyama. And… what would he say? The little mystery of the notebook had been a wonderful pretext; Tobio had implied that he would talk about it after exams. But Oikawa couldn’t just pop up in Karasuno’s gymnasium and remind Tobio of it.

The solution came by itself. It was about three days after the end of the exams; Oikawa was leaving the high school to go home when a shy voice called him.

“Eh… Hello?”

Oikawa turned around and when he recognized Tobio standing there, it felt like a hand was crushing his heart. He ran his hand through his hair and smiled nervously, completely disoriented. He wasn’t ready to face Tobio now! He wanted time to prepare what he would say and initiate the meeting himself. And now Kageyama was there, looking puzzled.

“Do you have a moment?” Tobio asked, playing with his hands.

“Well –yeah- a moment –an hour –life –I mean. Yes.”

Oikawa wasn’t an anxious person since he usually had a lot of self-confidence. But this time, he knew that he had no right to make a mistake again and he felt the pressure weighing on his shoulders. It was not his habit to stutter like this and he scolded himself about appearing that confused.

“My exams are over so I thought…” Kageyama began.

Oikawa waited for the end of the sentence but Tobio simply fidgeted while looking at him hopefully. They both were not at ease with words. Oikawa smiled more warmly.

“Maybe we should go somewhere else than the street if we want to talk?” He suggested. Tobio seemed relieved and only nodded.

“Let’s have a drink,” Oikawa cheerfully said, slowly beginning to get over his anxiety. He lead them to a little bar he knew, not far from his school, one he went with his team before. After they sat on an isolated table and ordered, they looked at each other.

“So you want to talk,” Oikawa summed up.

“You asked me something and I said I’d tell you after exams,” Kageyama reminded him.

“I remember. The crossed day in your notebook.”

“You asked me why.”

“I still don’t have the answer.”

Tobio let out a small sigh.

“When I came to Karasuno, I discovered a new way to play volleyball.”

“I know.”

“I also discovered a new way of being.”

Oikawa nodded. “I know that too,” he said softly.

“When I understood how I was in junior high, I promised myself not to come back to it. There was a day which perfectly symbolized what I had to avoid and I chose it to remind me of the progress I’ve made since then.”

Oikawa already knew what day it was. He was there. But he didn’t interrupt Tobio, deep down he was feeling guilty at the thought that maybe it was him who drove Kageyama to become “The Tyrant King”.

“I thought that the day nobody hit my toss was a good reminder.”

“Yeah,” Oikawa simply said. “But as you said, you’ve changed a lot since then.”

It was at that moment that the waitress gave them their drinks. They thanked her and once they took their glasses, Oikawa winked at Tobio - who gave him an embarrassed look as response - and said:

“Then should we toast to this fruitful change?”

And again –this time more than just a shadow- this little smile slowly appeared on Tobio’s lips. Oikawa lifted up his glass and clinked it against Tobio’s, smiling at him, hoping he didn’t seem mocking. They drank in silence but the atmosphere somehow was more relaxed.  Oikawa now had his answer and was thinking that he should find a new pretext to see Tobio after this day and not to let the ascendant slope on which their relationship was stagnate.

“Why were you curious about it?” Kageyama suddenly asked.

It wasn’t overly blunt but Oikawa wasn’t expecting such a question. _Try to be appropriate,_  Oikawa said to himself.

“Because I’m curious about you,” he answered and mentally slapped himself for being too direct.

Kageyama’s cheeks began to grow red and he looked away frowning. Oikawa felt victorious, so Tobio liked being the center of his attention? That really was interesting and he had a furious desire to pursue him.

“Yeah, I wanted to know you better. I was surprised to find you at the library the other day – I’d never thought I’d see you study before.”

“I’d never thought I’d see myself study before that day too,” Kageyama muttered.

“How were your exams?”

“Awful.”

They shared a look, amused smiles on their lips. Oikawa wondered if he was dreaming the feeling of euphoria which was making him dizzy.

“Maybe you could learn some things from your senpai,” he said. “I mean, about school.”

“Yes, about school,” Kageyama eagerly replied. “Of course. If it doesn’t bother you. About school.”

“Just tell me when you want to study.”

“I will.”

They remained silent while they finished their drinks. When they were about to leave, the number of smiles Oikawa had counted on Tobio’s lips till then was highly satisfying. He reminded him to call if he needed help for school before parting ways.

“I don’t have your number,” Tobio said. “How am I supposed to call you?”

“Right, right,” Oikawa cheerfully answered. “Just give me your phone.”

He registered himself as “Oikawa-senpai” and he gave the phone back to Tobio. Tobio frowned and blushed once more which made Oikawa proud of himself and it was not before he were in his room, getting ready to sleep, that the euphoria began to disappear. Then there was just one question stuck in his head.

Was he flirting with Kageyama?

 

**Step 5 : Happy Ending**

 

It took Tobio two days to send him a message, asking for help in literature. It wasn’t exactly Oikawa’s area of expertise, but he couldn’t miss an opportunity to see Kageyama. They agreed to meet at the library, and an hour later, they ran into each other in front of it.

They sat at the same desk as the last time; Tobio pulled a book out of his bag and placed it on the table, staring at it with disgust.

“I guess you don’t like it,” Oikawa said. “What do you have to do?”

“Read it.”

Oikawa was taken aback.

“You want me to read it out loud?”

“I’m not a child,” Tobio answered. “I can read. I just don’t understand the story.”

It sounded just like an excuse to meet. Kageyama could have found the meaning of this book everywhere on the internet and this pleased Oikawa.

“Well, you’re lucky that I already had to read it for school,” Oikawa said, leafing through the book. “It’s a love story.”

“I’ve never read something so boring in my life.”

“Have you even read anything else?”

“No.”

Oikawa sighed, smiling.

“Emma Bovary isn’t boring,” he said. “It’s the story which is.”

“It’s the same thing,” Tobio complained.

Oikawa hissed.  “You really understood nothing about it. It’s about a country girl who has a boring life. She has nothing to do, she can’t give a meaning to her life. So she takes a lover.”

He suddenly stopped and his eyes widened in wonderment. Several seconds later, he continued with a rising enthusiasm.

“The feeling of boredom you’re complaining about is on purpose. You have to feel like her. Did you ever feel like you’re expecting something from life which never comes?”

“Yes, I did,” Kageyama replied without looking at him.

 “And you’re searching how to get out from it-“

“Yes-“

“And suddenly there is this person-“

“Maybe-“

“Who appears unexpectedly in your life-“

“I think-“

“And makes your life all of sudden wonderful-“

“It’s-“

“Rodolphe!”

“Oikawa,” Kageyama cut off Oikawa’s speech while the latter stilled. He tried figure out if Tobio simply called him or if the parallel with the story was on purpose. Which would mean-?

“I know what it is,” Tobio said. “It appears that I experienced that not very long ago.”

“With Karasuno?” tried Oikawa, hoping he would say no.

“Not exactly.”

 _Don’t say something dumb because of euphoria,_ Oikawa told himself; and then he said:

“It’s curious, I experienced it recently too.”

It was, for that matter, extremely dumb. The coincidence was now too huge and he didn’t know what to do with that –he wasn’t ready for confessing! It was too soon! He didn’t even know-

“Oh,” Tobio simply replied with an embarrassed expression.  Did he understand? Did he not? “I guess it’s easy for you, since you have a lot of… fans. I mean, a lot of potential love stories.”

“They’re boring,” Oikawa chuckled, relieved that Tobio didn’t realized what he had meant. And… maybe he was a little disappointed too. “I was talking about someone else.”

Tobio looked a bit puzzled and only nodded, now gazing at the book, which was already better than his former glare at it. Was he going to ask who it was? Oikawa feared it and wished for it at the same time. But instead, Tobio pointed at the book.

“It’s a love story, you said. I heard it has a sad ending.”

Oikawa stayed silent until Tobio lifted his head.

 “If you want to, we just have to rewrite the end. Let’s say Emma escapes with Rodolphe.”

“It sounds better.”

Tooru warmly smiled at the naïve comment. Then he became serious again and said:

“Given our own story, I thought we would have a sad ending.”

“And now?”

“I was wrong.”

Tobio looked deeply frustrated.

“A happy ending,” he said, “is still an ending.”

“Well, maybe.”

It seemed that the answer wasn’t satisfying to Tobio at all, given his pout. He expected something else, mused Oikawa, and he thought that he knew exactly what. He laughed and Kageyama who was sulking, glared at him. It was too cute to handle. Tooru gave in; he leaned towards him and kissed him on the cheek. When Tobio gave him a shocked but bright look, he winked at him.

“After all, an ending means a new beginning.”

 


End file.
